Rafa Mir out on bail after sexual assault arrest

The Valencia forward Rafa Mir was released on bail on Wednesday as police investigate allegations of sexual assault against the player and a friend.

Mir, 27, was arrested on Sunday after two women made a complaint against him and another footballer, Pablo Jara.

The women told police that they had met Mir and Jara in a nightclub, and gone with them to Mir’s house. They said Mir then sexually assaulted one of them, while Jara punched the other after she refused to have sex with him.

On Wednesday, the court released Mir and Jara on bail as the investigation continues. Mir’s passport was confiscated and he was banned from contacting the two women, with a 500-metre restraining order being imposed.

Mir — who is on loan at Valencia from Sevilla — will have to attend court each week, and he is forbidden from leaving Spain.

Mir left court on Wednesday afternoon without making any comment. In court, he told the judge that his encounter with the alleged victim was consensual. His lawyer, via a statement, denied that his client had done anything wrong.

The news agency EFE reported that the complainant told police that Mir locked her in a bathroom before sexually assaulting her.

A neighbour called the police after hearing screams and seeing the two women, appearing disoriented, in the street.

On Tuesday, Valencia released a statement acknowledging Mir’s arrest, saying the club was unaware of the details of the case.

Mir, who is from Murcia, is a Valencia academy product who played for Wolves, Las Palmas, Nottingham Forest and Huesca before joining Sevilla in 2021.

He returned to Valencia on loan this summer.